Hi everybody!
First I’d like to you forgive me for my poor English level. I’m French, and you do know how it’s hard for French people to talk foreign language. So please, be tolerant and patient with me!
To present myself briefly, I’m one of these numbered young baptized JW who know, 23 years later for my part, that’s the biggest part of our belief was based on non-scientific ‘truths’.
Now, I feel simply like prisoner of this religion – to be a JW son, grand-son, husband, son-in-law, uncle, brother-in-law, neighbour, workmate … you know what it is … it doesn’t really help to do your ‘coming out’.
I started to follow this forum 2 years ago.
But last Tuesday, I finally decided to write my own topic, because I regularly met in JW literature some weird arguments which wounded my logic mind and I’d like to know what do you think about.
May be have you heard something about the world wide JW worship unity.
I believed these too… until penultimate WT study (2012, May 7-13 p.15).
Back to begin. 2 years ago, I found how to take advantage of my ‘spiritual’ studies: reading these in English to improve my language (rather than simply lose 3 hours by week by attending JW meeting).
So, last Sunday’s morning, (like a gentle sheep…), I was hearing the WT reader speaking in French while I was following it in my English WT.
What a surprise when I discovered that some English sentences and most important, their ideas, was omitted, purely and simply, in their French translation!
In English, we can read in the article “MAINTAIN YOUR SENSE OF URGENCY”
§2 “As Jehovah’s witnesses, we hope to help people to be saved. To that end, we take seriously our commission to preach good news of the Kingdom. Of course, we do not dash about frantically. Then what did the apostle Paul mean when he gave the admonition ‘Preach the word, be at it urgently’? How can we preach with urgency? And why is our work so urgent?”
French traduction:
§2 “Pour notre part, nous souhaitons aider nos contemporains à obtenir le salut. C’est pour cette raison que nous prenons au sérieux notre mission de prêcher la bonne nouvelle du Royaume. Paul a d’ailleurs ordonné de ‘prêcher la parole avec insistance’. Qu’est-ce que cela signifie ? Comment suivre ce commandement ? Et pourquoi notre œuvre est-elle si urgente ? »
Following, the Google translation from this French version:
§ 2 “For our part , we want to help our contemporaries to gain salvation . That's why we take seriously our mission to preach the gospel of the kingdom . Paul was also ordered to ' preach the word emphatically '. What does this mean? How to follow this commandment ? Why is our work is so urgent ?”
The sentence « Of course, we do not dash about frantically” has simply disappeared in the French translation!
Damn, for once there was an interesting idea instead of the perennial chorus “first preach the good news”!
I conclude that we, in France, have not exactly the same ‘spiritual’ food that the English flock has.
So, the issue is: where is the worship unity in this case?